“One war at a time,” Abe Lincoln famously replied when aides urged policies that might have plunged the Union into wars with France and England. Two-front wars rarely go well. The U.S. defeated both Nazi Germany and Hirohito’s Japan in World War II, but with strong allies including China, the Soviet Union and the UK. Germany fought a two-front war, East and West, and lost. Japan deployed most of its army to fight China, then took on the U.S., and lost.
But “Joe Biden” – or his autopen guided by Neera Tanden – got us stuck in three wars: Ukraine, Iran and, potentially, China over Taiwan and East Asia. And our allies this time are not as strong. NATO just mumbled about increasing defense spending, but burgeoning welfare states and extinction-level birth rates will make that impossible. Israel is a strong, but relatively small ally in the Middle East, while Iran is being resupplied by China and Russia. And in the Pacific, China just keeps growing stronger, albeit facing its own demographic crisis from low birth rates.
Just rereading what I said, America could solve most of those problems with a decent birth rate, one above the 2.1 replacement level per woman. But ours currently is 1.79. The murderous Roe v. Wade 1973 decision was overturned three years ago, to the demonic shrieks of the pro-aborts. That allowed the states to ban the abomination, but few did so, and abortions actually have increased since. If America abolished all abortions nationwide, we could populate all those countries emptying out from demographic suicide.
Back to Ukraine.
I haven’t read Putin’s speech at his recent St. Petersburg economic forum, attended by most nations in the Global South – that is, most of the world. But the guys at the Duran provided an analysis. Putin said, “Wherever a Russian soldier is, there is Russia.” And he hinted at taking not just the part of Ukraine east of the Dnepr river, but all of it – including Kiev, because it’s part of historic Russia, going back to the country’s start a thousand years ago as the Kievan Rus.
Well, who knows if that will happen. Politicians say a lot of things. Just look at our El Presidente. But for Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Richard “Da Nang Dick” Blumenthal and others backing more aid to Ukraine, answer this question: What’s your victory plan? The aid, especially Patriot air-defense missiles, is needed for Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East, as well as Taiwan and U.S. forces in the Pacific. And Ukraine is not part of NATO so, as I have said many times, either it could remain neutral, or it inevitably would join what the Russians call their “near abroad,” meaning a close ally like Belarus. It now will be at least the latter, or even become just part of Russia as Ukraine has been for most of its history. Just the way it is becuase Russia is a nuclear superpower.
These fools can’t think beyond their latest campaign contribution from the Military Industrial Complex.
In these situations, it’s always essential to ask, as I have in my articles here: What’s next? What if your brilliant plan doesn’t work? What if the other side doesn’t cooperate with what was projected by the AI in your computerized war games?
Meanwhile, our own country continues going broke. A new report projectsß Social Security and Medicare are going to start going belly up in 2033. When I’ll be 78. We Baby Boomers really are tapping out the system. We also have been the biggest supporters of these wars. Even the Boomers who marched against Nam, inhaling pot while singing, arm-to-arm, “All we are saying, is Give Peace a Chance!”
But when Budget Cutter comes before the Grim Reaper, we’ll be shouting, this time on medical marijuana in the retirement home: “Don’t cut our Social Security and Medicare! Cut defense!”
(Note: I’m available for all your freelance writing needs. Reasonable rates. Fast service. Brilliance. Email: writejohnseiler@gmail.com)
I doubt if the Ukraine is as much a threat as Russia.